Victorian Letter Box

Another curio in North Dorset is the oldest pillar box still in daily use in Great Britain. It is at Barnes Cross, Holwell. It was made of cast iron by John N Butt and Company of Gloucester during the 1850s. It has a small vertical slot with a flap on the inside to keep out the rain.

Excerpts

AS YOU TRAVEL north from Beaminster towards Mosterton and Crewkerne the road takes you through Beaminster tunnel formerly known as Horn Hill tunnel. This civil engineering project was completed in 1832 taking less …Read More »

In May of 1857 native soldiers of the Bengal Army shot their British officers and marched on Delhi. The Indian Mutiny gathered momentum and the British struggled to maintain control. The mutineers commanded …Read More »

Robert Whitehead established a torpedo factory on Portland harbour near Ferrybridge. He died in 1905 but the firm continued, now owned by Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth. The Whitehead Torpedo Factory was sold in 1989 …Read More »

THE WEST OF DORSET, particularly the Bridport area, is important in the story of King Charles II’s escape after his defeat at the battle of Worcester on 3rd September 1651. Charles had returned …Read More »

On 1st April 1803, as the Napoleonic wars were nearing a climax, the frigate HMS Aigle anchored just off Portland Castle. Armed with 36 eighteen pounder cannon, HMS Aigle had been built at …Read More »